A lot of guys like the 'hardcore' or manly associations with raw egg ingestion, I will admit to that myself- watching people wince as you crack an egg straight into your mouth is kind of cool. Same with a tuna milkshake, its horrid, but its a psychological thing- you are enforcing a mindset of pushing past personal comfort to achieve results, pushing boundaries that others cant, or wont step over to get an edge.

psychology plays a big part in performance, so if you only absorb 4 of the 6 grams of protein from a raw egg, but the act of doing so helps you train harder, and motivates you on some level, then it will give good results.

Eggs are the Maralyn Manson of the nutritional world- they have been blamed for everything from elevating our LDL cholestorol to poisoning us with salmonela. The powers that be couldn't make either charge stick, the pesky things kept coming up with iron clad alibi's.

Now they can't get em off the streets, all they can do is harrass them with attempts at undermining their credibility.History and nature make a mockery of these attacks.

It is a simple fact that strength athletes throughout the ages have used egg both cooked and raw as an effective source of protein, and every onmivorous mammal on earth will see any form of egg as an absolute gift- do you ever see a racoon or a fox turn its nose up at raw egg? do they scuttle off to put the frying pan on? Of course not, they recognise it as an absorbable food source. Yes i know we have different physiology, but we are still mammals, and the fact that every culture throughout the world eats egg in some form should indicate that our mammalian instincts on this are in tune.

I am not saying raw egg is the best form of protein, i am saying that it is still valid, and for some plays a role in their training that goes beyond mere nutrition, thus leveling out any shortcomings.If you are not of that mindset, or if you are in a position financialy to be able to sustain the use of whey supplements day in day out, then avoid raw egg.

i was never in that pay scale- i had to get my protein as cheaply as possible: egg,milk,tinned tuna and baked beans were my foundation, and like the mobile phone and the internet, whey supplements didnt exist!

People managed to communicate just fine before the Web and the cell phone, and people managed to grow just fine before whey isolate.

Thanks cord. I appreciate you taking the time to respond... and what you said makes complete sense. To be honest, I'm definitely not in that payscale either.. lol... maybe I'll have to give this raw egg thing a try.

Quote:I mixed a couple in with my shake and didn't even taste it. I have not tried them by themselves yet.

I would stick with putting them in a shake- you will then get a combination of milk and egg protein. 600ml of skimmed milk, 2 eggs, a banana, and a drop of vanilla essence (not syrup), or a teaspoon spoon of malt extract. That gives you 32 grams of protein, and tastes nicer than any pre mix protein powders.

Cord,sorry to disagree with you, but the link to salmonella has been proved on multiple levels here in America by our Federal Food and Drug Administration. It is linked to the feeding cycle of chickens and reintroduction of their "parts" back into the food chain as "chicken scratch" (food) used in the poultry farms.

I can't speak for your farms, but those in the USA have several protocols that have to be observed and followed to continue to reduce the reintroduction of salmonella virus into the food chain... and like putting an "unloaded gun" into your mouth, the FDA has (if they have erred) erred on the side of safety to the consumers.

I'm one of those guys who occasionally has a "venture" into some overlight eggs, but usually when I forget. I don't think the level of protein you get from fully cooked eggs is much less than raw ones, so why bother to roll the roulette wheel with your health? Unlike a lot of people, I'm not really picky about what I eat as long as its tasty, but I don't see the sense in eating anything that can cause unnecessary harm.

On a funny note, I once was driving by a chicken processing plant when I noticed a guy frantically pushing on the back of a dump truck. What had happened was that he was loading chicken guts from the processing plant into the truck to be taken to a "feed plant", and noticed after cutting on the dump arm that the tailgate of the truck was not locked down. He was pushing as hard as he could until he finally stepped on something slick, and fell down. When he did, the tailgate swung open and buried him neck-deep in chicken guts while he sat on the ground...

I don't think his white coat helped much...

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What man is a man that does not make the world a better place?... from "Kingdom of Heaven"

Quote:I can't speak for your farms, but those in the USA have several protocols that have to be observed and followed to continue to reduce the reintroduction of salmonella virus into the food chain... and like putting an "unloaded gun" into your mouth, the FDA has (if they have erred) erred on the side of safety to the consumers.

Here in the UK, we had a massive salmonella/egg scare in the mid to late 80's, and measures were enforced regarding feed and handling of eggs to minimise the risk.

How things are done in different countries may increase or decrease the risk involved with certain foods.

all i can tell you, from a UK perspective is that I have eaten literally thousands of raw eggs with no ill effect whatsoever. nor have I seen, or heard of anyone, even anecdotaly, having a raw egg related illness/poisoning.

There is risk in everything in life- rare meat, all shellfish, using the '5 second rule' in the kitchen with dropped food (you know you do ), crossing the road, eating out, walking up and down stairs,sparring, driving.... you get my point.

The risks you consider acceptable and unacceptable are always a personal choice. I have repeatedly said that raw egg is not the best source of protein. My point throughout this thread was that after nearly a century of use in strength persuits, it has not suddenly become completely useless.

Hey, I totally agree with you. Our problem is that our food processes in America are all "big farm" type situations, and a problem at almost any level is amplified, which is why the FDA always trys to err on the side of caution... same type of thing with shellfish here. Nobody loves raw oysters any more than me, but they have had numerous cases of hepetitis caused from them, so they're off my list for awhile.

What I find hilarious is that hunters in the USA eat deer meat all the time, and it's like playing roulette with Mad Cow disease. Our deer populations have an increasing incidence of Chronic Wasting Disease (a similar enzyme) that can't be cooked out, cut out, or even discovered (until it's too late) but our "food concious" society eats it like it was candy.

I guess, as you say, it's all personal choice.

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What man is a man that does not make the world a better place?... from "Kingdom of Heaven"

I dont I am afraid. I do not use the internet as a main source of information I am afraid, so seldom have links to share. The changes in the UK handling of eggs were widely broadcast at the time of the change (it was a very high profile health scare at the time), and one of my best friends is a leading figure in livestock veterinary medicine and nutrition and teaches at cambridge university, so if i have questions about such matters I talk to her in person.

Your government regulations on such things should be freely available on line or in your library.